Not As It Seems
by Sasha.Rizzoli
Summary: What if everything was not as it seemed. Would you wait till you got the whole story before doing something about it? A/U Eventual E/O.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I wanted to try something different and this is what came to mind. Please give it a chance. Please read and review for more.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anyone or anything you recognize.**

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_"I need to know you can do your job and not wait for me to come to the rescue..."_ The words were still burned in Elliot's skull after these two long years. The guilt was still there inside of him._ "...Otherwise we can't be partners."_ They were the last words that he had been able to say to Olivia because he hadn't seen her since. He had gone to work the next morning only to discover her desk completely bare and empty, which only added to his guilt. He had not been given the chance to apologize and take her out for a beer. To tell her what he really wanted to tell her. He loved her. Since then he'd dated other women and he always compared them to Olivia Benson and none of them were good enough. None of them were her. Elliot needed to find her but no one in the squad knew where she was. No one had seen or heard from Olivia in two long, exhausting years and they were all worried but she was a grown woman and they knew she could take care of herself.

It was a Tuesday morning. Two years and three days to the day he last saw the love of his life and he was completely unaware that his hunt for Olivia would get a step closer.

Elliot looked up to see Casey walk in, her usual leather briefcase in hand. She said hello to Munch and Fin before walking over to Elliot's desk and placing her case on the side of his messy desk.

"How can I help you, counselor?" he asked her professionally, looking up at her.

"I have something to show you," she replied, opening her briefcase and pulling something out.

A folded up sheet up of fancy writing paper. It was a letter.

"I got this in the mail yesterday. It is from Olivia," Casey told him as she slowly passed it to him.

Taking the letter, Elliot opened it and instantly began to read the perfect cursive writing that he was very familiar with. Olivia's handwriting.

It read:

_'Dear Casey,_

_I know that it's been two long years since you or anyone from the squad have heard from me but it was beyond my control but know that I miss you and the guys so much. _

_Please make sure Elliot doesn't try track me down. I am happy where I am right now. I have a beautiful baby girl. She's four months and the sweetest little thing. Her name is Brylee Justice Benson. She has the shiniest blue eyes that remind me of Elliot but no he obviously is not her father. I promise to visit soon but I don't know when it will be._

_I miss you... Take care,_

_Olivia Benson'._

After reading the letter, Elliot sighed and put it down.

"Where the hell did she send it from Casey? Where is Olivia? Don't you dare lie and say you don't know cause I know she would have put a return address on the envelope or on a separate piece of paper inside with it... So where is she?" he demanded, ignoring the request that Olivia had specifically disclosed in the letter.

"She specifically asked that you not look for her, Elliot. You read that in the letter. Leave her be. She's been through a lot the last couple years," Casey accidentally blurted out the last bit.

"How would you know that when it isn't disclosed in the letter, Casey?" Elliot asked confused.

Casey sighed. She was busted. "There was more to the letter. A part she specifically asked me not to show anyone and there was also a photo of her and the baby," she admitted.

"I want the address and I want to see that photo," Elliot demanded again.

Casey sighed. "I can't give you the address, Elliot. I need to respect Liv's wishes. Please don't make me go against them," she pleaded with him.

"I need to know that Liv is safe. I need to see her, hear her voice again. I miss her so damn much," he admitted, softly, so just Casey heard him.

"I know, Elliot. Believe me I know. I miss her too," Casey replied. "But I can't go against her wishes."

Elliot groaned in frustration. "Well can I at least see the photo of her and her daughter?" he asked.

"Sure," Casey said and pulled a photo from a digital camera printed out a sheet of photo paper from her briefcase and passed it to him.

Elliot took it and looked at it. He couldn't help but smile.

Olivia looked so happy in the photo. She looked exhausted as she sat up in a hospital bed holding a baby bundled in a pink receiving blanket. She was holding her up for the photo with her cheek pressed against Brylee's tiny olive toned cheek. Brylee was so cute and chubby, and she looked like Olivia's little clone.

"Did she say when Brylee was born and how much she weighed?"

Casey grabbed another piece of paper out of case and read off of it. "Brylee Justice was born on October the fourth at two fifty six in the morning. Weighing in at a whopping nine pounds eight and a half ounces," she relayed the information for Elliot.

Elliot nodded and decided to try one more time. "Casey, please give me her address. I want to bring her home. Where she belongs," he begged.

Casey sighed. "I don't think her fiancé will like that too much."

"Fiancé?" Elliot asked confused.

"Yeah, fiancé," Casey repeated.

Elliot shrugged his shoulders, nonchalantly. "I don't care. I still want it."

Casey rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "Fine. But I am coming with you," she told him.

"Deal," Elliot replied with a nod. "I will arrange our tickets online and we'll leave in the morning."

"Okay. She's in San Francisco," she finally told him.

Elliot furrowed his brows. "What is she doing there on the other side of the country?" he asked confused. "She told me she never wanted to live anywhere but New York. She was born and raised here and she said that this was her home."

"I don't know, Elliot. I can't read her mind. Just arrange the trip, and I will be back later. I have court in half an hour," she told him, putting everything back in to her briefcase and putting the strap on her shoulder before walking out of the squad room.

Elliot sighed and went on to the internet to arrange a flight for the next morning. He and Casey needed to bring Olivia back home where she belonged, with her baby.

*************

The next afternoon, Elliot stopped the rented car in front of a huge two storey home with a beautiful, well maintained front yard and a black SUV parked in the driveway. "Well according to the address in the letter, this is it," he said to Casey, sitting in the front passenger seat.

"She never mentioned her fiancé's profession and she didn't say if she is still a detective either," Casey replied, taking off her seatbelt and opening the car door as Elliot followed suit.

Sighing, Elliot nervously walked up the welcoming path to the front door, with Casey close behind. He raised his closed fist and knocked on the door.

It took a couple moments but the door finally opened, slowly revealing a tired mother with a gurgling baby girl in her arms and a small pink blanket on her shoulder.

"Elliot? Casey?" Olivia gasped. "What the heck are you two doing here? I said not to come," she snarled, trying to stay angry but she couldn't. She had missed her two best friends so much.

"I'm so sorry, Liv," Elliot apologized, "but I had to come see you... I missed you so much. I begged Casey for your address, then she made me bring her."

Casey just nodded and Olivia couldn't help but smile.

"You guys, better come in. I need to change Brylee and put her down for her nap before she gets cranky," she said and moved out of the door way to let them in to her home.

_"...I need to know you can do your job and not wait for me to come to the rescue..." _The words were still engraved in Olivia's mind. The pain from the word still deep within her heart. The words she had tried to forget but couldn't _"...Otherwise we can't be partners..."_ The last sentence that Elliot had ever said to her. The words that worsen the blow. The final straw that made her decision to leave. Leave her home, her work, her friends. Leave him.

"Liv? Olivia?"

Elliot's voice startled her out of her thoughts along with waving of his hand in front of her face.

Shaking her head, Olivia cleared her throat. "Oh, sorry... I'm just going to change Brylee and come back. I will put her in her playpen in here. Excuse me," she said distantly and headed up the stairs.

Elliot and Casey looked around the living room. It was extensively decorated and spotlessly clean. Absolutely nothing out of place. There were lots of photos on the walls, coffee table, on the fireplace mantle and on side tables beside the couch. A lot of them had people that they did not know and quite a few had Brylee. Professionally taken ones and home taken ones. One contained Olivia, a man, with blue eyes and blond hair, and Brylee. In the photo, Olivia was laying on the couch with her head on the man's lap and what looked to be a newborn Brylee sound asleep on her chest, sucking on a pale pink and white pacifier, dressed in a pink and white long sleeved striped onesie.

"She looks so happy," Casey whispered from behind him.

Elliot nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she does. But I sense that she won't truly be happy until she is home where she belongs."

"Yeah, but if she's happy here, it's going to take a lot of convincing to get her to come back with us," Casey told him.

"Yeah, I know," Elliot replied with a sigh.

The sound of someone clearing their throat startled both Elliot and Casey. Olivia was standing in the doorway with a freshly changed, sleepy eyed Brylee in her arms. "I guess you're both waiting for some answers, huh?" she whispered sadly and made her way to the playpen set up in the corner of the living room. She kissed her daughter's forehead and whispered something in French in her little ear before laying her down in the playpen.

"Olivia?" Casey finally spoke up after a short but uncomfortable silence.

"Sorry... Have a seat. Would either of you like a drink? I have coffee, tea, soda, juice or water," she offered.

"A coffee would be great, thanks, Liv. You still remember how I take it?"

"Yeah, El, I remember," Olivia laughed. "Case, what would you like?"

"Just some water please, Liv," Casey answered.

Olivia nodded and walked in to the spacious, modern kitchen.

She returned a couple minutes later with three drinks on a tray. Elliot's coffee, Casey's water and a glass of orange juice for herself.

"No coffee or tea, Liv?" Elliot asked.

Olivia shook her head. "No, I'm still nursing Brylee, so I refuse to touch caffeine or anything else that could be bad for her," she replied as she placed their drinks on the coffee table in front of them before taking a seat on the armchair opposite them. "We have a good hour before my fiancé gets home from work, so let's make the most of it," she told them and took a sip of her drink. "Ask your questions now."

Elliot opened his mouth first but the words wouldn't form so he just shut his mouth.

"Just spit it out, Elliot," Olivia said, refusing to remove her eyes from his. Oh, how she had missed his calming cerulean blue eyes, the sound of his sexy voice and the intoxicating scent of his after shave.

"Why did you leave, Olivia? Why didn't you give us a chance to work it out?" Elliot asked. The hurt evident in his voice.

Olivia sighed and ran a hair through her long caramel tresses. "Elliot, we were partners for eight years. We needed a break from each other," she replied.

"I didn't think so... And for two years?! How the hell could you just up and leave for two years? Then Casey gets a letter saying that you're engaged and have a baby!" he accidentally snapped at her. Accidentally waking the baby in the playpen. "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry, Liv."

"It's okay, El," Olivia replied as she got up. "You have every right to be angry." She picked up the screaming infant and cuddled her to her chest. "It's okay, Bry, you're alright, mommy's got you," she cooed, rubbing Brylee's tiny back. "Uncle Elliot didn't mean to yell at mommy."

Finally Brylee settled down and Olivia sat back on the couch with her, turning back to her guests. "I'm really sorry, El, that I didn't say anything before I left but... It was too hard. Too complicated..." She sighed. "I fell in love with you, Elliot, and I got scared. I had never felt that kind of love before," she confessed, continuing to rubbed her daughter's back, to keep her calm.

Elliot groaned. "What the hell do you mean got too complicated? What got complicated, Olivia?... Cause I love you too..."

Olivia's eyes opened wide in shock. "Y... You love me too?"

"Yes, I wanted to tell you before you left."

"Well it's too late now," Olivia whispered sadly.

"What do you mean it's too late?"

"I'm engaged to Greg and he's a... G...great guy."

Both Elliot and Casey furrowed their brows in confusion.

"That didn't sound very convincing," Elliot stated. "Liv, is he hurting you?"

Olivia shook her head but it was as little too quickly and when she heard a car door slam, she flinched. "Greg is home. You guys, need to leave now," she said and got up, quickly heading for the front door.

Elliot and Casey got up and followed her to the door and got there just as she opened the door and her fiancé walked in.

"Hi baby, who are these two?" Greg asked with a peck on her lips before kissing Brylee on the forehead.

"Just some old friends from New York. They were just leaving."

"Good. Cause I want to take you and our little princess out to dinner," he said and headed up the stairs.

"We'll be back tomorrow," Elliot whispered in her ear.

Olivia nodded. "Thanks for coming, you two. Bye."

As soon as they walked out, Olivia locked the door and headed upstairs to Greg.

"Who were they, honey?" Greg asked her as soon as she walked in to the master bedroom with Brylee.

"As I told you downstairs," she replied and laid the baby in her pink, frilly bassinet on her side of the bed since Greg did nothing for the baby, all the responsibility was on Olivia.

Greg had told her from the day Brylee was born, it was the mother's responsibility to raise the children not his and not wanting to cause any problems, Olivia just went along with it, just glad to finally be a mother. To have the child she had always longed for.

"Don't get smart with me. Who were they?" he asked again, getting changed in to a fancy black suit.

"They are some old co-workers. Elliot, he was my partner in Special Victims," she finally told him.

Greg nodded. "Get dressed nicely. I need to impress some people. So wear that sexy red dress and curl your hair," he ordered. "Then dress Brylee up nice and cute and make sure she is fed before we leave. I don't want her crying in the restaurant."

"I can't help if she cries, Greg. She could cry for any reason."

"Well if she does, you will take her outside."

"In the freezing snow?!" Olivia screeched as she slipped in to the red dress.

Greg nodded and did up his tie. "Yes. I told you I need to impress these people and I can't do that if my child is screaming in their ear," he snapped harshly before storming in to the master bathroom.

Olivia sighed, slipped on her high heels and continued on with getting ready.

*************

"There is something fishy about that guy. I got a weird vibe from him," Elliot said as they got back in to the rented car.

"As if you could get a read on him in thirty seconds," Casey retorted.

Starting up the engine, Elliot nodded. "Well I did and something wrong is going on in that house," he told her as he pulled away from the curb. "And I am determined to find out."

"You think he is beating her?"

"No, I don't think it's that cause Liv wouldn't stand for that...but I think _something_ is going on," he replied.

"Yeah, I think you're right. The way she flinched when she heard him slam the car door closed and practically kicked us out."

"Exactly," Elliot agreed. "We need to find out what is going on in that fancy house."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here is chapter two. Sorry if it seems a little slow paced, the real action begins next chapter, I promise. Please read and review for more.**

**Disclaimer: Only own Greg and Brylee.**

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After quickly dropping Casey off at the hotel, Elliot drove back to Olivia's house and decided it was time for a stake-out. Olivia would hate him for doing it but he didn't care, he needed to make sure she was safe.

So there he sat in the rented car in the shadows, watching the house, waiting for some kind of movement but he hadn't seen anything yet.

*************

"Hey there, sweetie," Olivia whispered to Brylee as she laid her down on a changing pad on the bed to get her ready. "You're going to look so gorgeous in this dress," she said as she changed the infant's diaper. She blew a raspberry on her chubby baby belly, causing Brylee to giggle and kick her legs in joy but the bliss was brought to a standstill.

"Hurry the hell up, Olivia. We have to get going," Greg snapped from the doorway off the master bedroom.

"Yes, honey. We're nearly ready," she replied softly and slipped the dress on Brylee gently.

She smoothed it out and picked Brylee up before grabbing the diaper bag and her purse on the way out.

Leaving the house, Olivia's detective instincts kicked in and she noticed the car in the shadows and knew someone was watching them, she guessed it was Elliot.

She sighed and laid Brylee in her car seat, buckling her in securely.

"Hurry the hell up, Olivia," Greg demanded as he started up the car.

"Coming," Olivia replied and closed the back passenger door before getting in the front herself.

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Elliot pulled out from the curb after them and followed them at a safe distance all the way to a fancy restaurant on the other side of town.

He watched as Olivia get the baby out of her car seat and laid her in the stroller, that she had grabbed out from the car's trunk. The whole time Olivia was getting the child situated and comfortable, Greg just stood there as if he didn't know them. He didn't do a damn thing for Olivia and Brylee and that angered Elliot. He just wanted to jump out of the car and run over to them and punch Greg out but he had to keep himself restrained and keep watching from the shadows.

He watched as they walked from the car in to the fancy restaurant and sit down with a large group of fancy, business like people in suits with briefcases and Elliot wondered how on Earth she was fitting in with people, since he had only seen her with detectives and ADAs unless of course she was undercover.

_'Oh, what on Earth has she gotten herself in to,' _Elliot thought to himself.

*************

Elliot watched the group at the table for the next couple hours from the confines of the car. Olivia looked incredibly bored and Brylee slept in her stroller through most of it except when Olivia had to feed and change her, then she went right back off to sleep, uninterested in what was going on.

Finally at just after nine, they finally emerged from the restaurant. Olivia following close behind Greg as she pushed a now wide awake Brylee, who was kicking at the toys dangling on her stroller. Olivia lifted the infant out of the stroller and in to the baby car seat, buckling her in securely as Greg got in to the driver's seat of the car. She closed the car door and just as she folded up the stroller and put it in the trunk, Greg started to beep the horn angrily.

"Hurry the hell up, Olivia. I have some things I still need to do before going to bed!" he snarled at her.

Olivia sighed and slammed the trunk shut. "I'm coming, I'm coming," she grumbled and climbed in to the passenger seat.

She wasn't sure how much longer she could handle this. She would have to talk to Jennifer Campbell about it in the morning.

*************

Olivia was woken at two past five the next morning to her own personal human alarm clock. Brylee.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up, yawning.

"Shut her up," Greg grumbled half asleep and rolled over, going back to sleep.

Olivia sighed and got up, taking the two steps to the pink, frilly bassinet containing the infant. "Oh, it's okay, Bry. Mommy's got you, princess," she murmured, picking Brylee up. "Come on, sweetie." She carried Brylee out of the master bedroom and in to the nursery.

Olivia turned on the overhead light and sat down in the polished pine rocking chair on the other side of the pale purple painted bedroom, in front of the window. "It's okay, precious," she whispered to the still screaming baby as she moved her pajama top and adjusted Brylee to her breast. "There you go, Bry. Fill up your baby belly, then Mommy will give you a bath, huh?"

As Brylee suckled from her mother's breast, Olivia hummed to her and rocked gently back and forth.

The stars in the still dark sky and the silence, except for the suckling sounds coming from Brylee, were soothing and this feeding was Olivia's favorite time.

It was just her and Brylee. Mother and daughter all alone. Time just for the two of them to bond.

Once Brylee finished and burped, Olivia got kissed her cheek and got up. "Bath time, baby girl," she whispered and headed in to the bathroom, just in time to see Greg walking out, wet and just in a towel.

"Morning," he grumbled and lightly pecked her cheek before continuing to get ready for work.

"Morning," Olivia mumbled back and walked in to the bathroom.

She filled up the baby bath and checked the temperature of the water. With the temperature just right, Olivia undressed the baby and Brylee began to fuss unhappily.

"It's okay, sweetie," Olivia cooed as she laid her in the lukewarm water, holding her to keep her head above water.

As soon as her little body touched the water, Brylee smiled.

"Ah, there's that gorgeous smile I love," she said as she washed Brylee. "You love the bath, don't you, Bry?... What are Mommy and Brylee going to do today? You got any suggestions?" she asked, although she knew she wouldn't get an answer from her gurgling baby girl.

At the sound of Greg demanding breakfast, Olivia sighed. "I'm coming, Greg! I just need to dry and dress Brylee!" she called back and made quick, gentle, precise work of Brylee out of the bath and in to her fluffy, light pink towel to dry her before she got a cold. "Let's get you dressed, Bry," she said softly and headed in to the nursery.

*************

With Greg finally gone to work, Olivia could breath freely without him ordering stuff and breathing down her neck.

Just as she went to lay Brylee down in her stroller and head to the park, there was a knock on the front door.

Olivia ran a hand through her hair and picked Brylee up again. "Who is it?" she called out as she slowly approached the door.

"It's Elliot and Casey," was the answer from the other side of the thick wood.

Olivia opened the door and greeted her friends with a smile. "Hey. Come on in," she said and let them in.

Both Elliot and Casey greeted her and entered the beautiful home.

"Take a seat. Would either of you like something to drink?" she asked as she laid Brylee in her bouncer seat.

"No, thank you," replied Elliot, after hugging her, being careful of Brylee.

"No, thanks, that's okay," Casey said and took a seat on the couch.

Olivia nodded and took a seat on the arm chair opposite to her old work mates. "So..." she started and stopped, not knowing what to say. But then she remembered Elliot watching her last night. "Elliot, why were you watching me last night?" she asked, getting straight to it, not wanting to beat around the bush.

Elliot gasped in shock, realizing that he had been caught red handed. Once a detective, always a detective. "I may not be a detective anymore, Elliot, but I know you were watching," she said emotionless, only half telling the truth, waiting for an answer.

Elliot sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Liv, but I needed to make sure Greg wasn't hurting you. Olivia, why are you with him? He doesn't respect you... He doesn't love you or Brylee. He treats you and Brylee badly."

"And you were oh so respectful and loving when I was home in New York," she said sarcastically.

"Okay, I deserve that, and I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Why were you staking out? I can look after myself and my child, Elliot," she groaned. He had always been over protective of her. She had to admit she did love and appreciate it but he had a habit of taking it too far, just like he had the night before by watching her.

"As I said, Liv, I had to make sure he wasn't hurting you or Brylee. I know you can take care of yourself and Brylee but I still had to make sure. I love you, Olivia, and I don't want anything to happen to you or the baby, even though she isn't my daughter. Please, Olivia, leave Greg, and come back home to New York with Brylee, where you two belong," he practically begged her.

Rubbing her hands together, Olivia sighed and said, "I can't, Elliot. I have things I am committed to here. When they're done, then maybe," she informed him. No matter how badly she wanted to go back home and raise her daughter in New York City, she couldn't yet, she had to stay here in San Fransisco, which reminded her. She had to call Jennifer Campbell after Elliot and Casey left and before Greg got home from work.

"Committed to what?!" Elliot asked confused, furrowing his brow.

Casey just sat there in silence, watching the two former partners hash out their problems, which needed to be resolved.

"I can't tell you, Elliot, I'm sorry," she apologized.

Elliot bit his bottom lip and shook his head. "Unbelievable," he muttered.

"What?" Olivia asked, slightly tilting her head.

"You used to be able to trust me, Olivia... You used to tell me everything."

Hearing the hurt in his voice, Olivia sighed and ran a hand through her long, brown hair. "I still do, Elliot," she admitted softly.

"Then why won't you tell me?!" he asked a little too harshly.

"Cause I can't," she replied again, just as softly.

Elliot growled in frustration and momentarily forgot about the happy, gurgling baby in the bouncer. "You obviously can't trust me if you won't tell me! We used to be best friends, Olivia, until you up and left one day. If you really loved me, you wouldn't have left!" he yelled, upsetting Brylee, causing him to sigh. He hadn't meant to. "I'll get her," he said and went to get up but Olivia stopped him.

"Oh no, you've done more then enough already," she said and got up to tend to her child. "It's okay, sweetie-pie. Mommy's got you," she murmured assuringly as she picked up the wailing infant. "Uncle Elliot and Aunt Casey are going to leave us alone now cause we have lots to do today," she said softly and kissed the crown of Brylee's head before looking up at Elliot giving him the evil eye. Boy, if looks could kill, he'd totally be screwed.

Both Elliot and Casey got the hint and got up, heading for the front door.

They said their goodbyes and walked out sadly, leaving Olivia and Brylee alone.

*************

Getting in to the rented car, Elliot sighed. "Something is happening to Olivia and she is refusing to let us help her. Why must she be so damn stubborn!" he growled and slammed his hands down on the steering wheel.

"Elliot, you know what Liv is like. She know she doesn't like to be helped. She thinks she can be some sort of super woman," she said sadly and put on her seatbelt.

"Yeah, I know," he sighed and put his key in the ignition, turning on the engine. "I just wish she wasn't so stubborn," he said and drop off.

*************

Olivia stood at the living room window, holding a now calm Brylee, watching her two best friends, walking away as they talked, most certainly about her.

A tear fell from her left eye as she saw them get in to the silver four door sedan parked at the curb. She couldn't believe what was happening. She was letting Elliot and Casey drive away and she didn't know if she would ever see them again. She didn't even know how much more she could take of this.

She was certain that Greg didn't love her and she didn't love him. He wasn't even the father of Brylee but she wasn't sure if he knew that or not, not that she really cared. She just wanted to go home, where she and Brylee belonged. With Elliot. With the people that she considered her family. Cragen would be thrilled to have a 'grand-baby' he could spoil, even though he wouldn't willing admit to it but Olivia knew he would.

Olivia didn't know how long she'd been standing there staring at the empty street until Brylee decided she wanted her mother's full and undivided attention.

Brylee bounced in Olivia's arm and babbled at her.

Rubbing Brylee's back, Olivia cleared her throat. "Sorry, baby. Mommy just needs to make a call then we can go to the park," she said and kissed Brylee's cheek as she looked around for her cell phone. She never called Jennifer from the house phone because she couldn't let Greg find out who she was calling.

Once she found her cell, which was in her nightstand drawer where she had left it the night before, she made the call.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here is the next chapter, for more, please read and review.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anyone or anything you recognize.**

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It was midnight in the Benson-Marshall home. Except it was only the two Bensons inside the house. Greg had not returned home and Olivia had a strong suspicion that he was up to something. She sighed and went in to the nursery upstairs to check on Brylee, who was finally sleeping in her crib for the first time, and she seemed to be comfortable in it so far. Feeling a little lonely, she walked over to the crib and gently woke the baby up.

Brylee started to cry and Olivia picked her up, cradling her to her chest. "Hey, baby, hey," she cooed and bounced her up and down gently and kissed her cheek. "I hope we don't have to stay here much longer," she whispered and kissed her downy, dark brown hair.

"I can make that wish come true."

The voice, which had come from the nursery doorway, startled Olivia. It was Greg and he was drunk and high.

Olivia bit her bottom lip and laid Brylee back down in the crib before pushing Greg out of the room and closing the door. She was going to do everything in her power to protect her daughter.

"I know she is not my child, Olivia. Why the hell didn't you tell me?!" he snarled.

"I didn't know until a week after she was born, Greg," she tried to defend herself.

"Yeah, so you've had plenty of time. You've seen what I do... I cannot let you and _that thing_ leave here alive," he snapped and he was actually beginning to scare Olivia.

He pulled a knife out of the back of his trousers and looked Olivia square in the eye. An evil look, which Olivia had never seen before, it sent a shiver down her spine.

"You leave Brylee alone. She is only a baby. She's innocent, she is oblivious to everything happening between us. She barely even knows you because you've never done anything for her," she snapped back in anger and started to fight against him, trying to make him drop the knife.

"Let go, you bitch!" Greg growled, trying his hardest to overpower her but Olivia actually seemed stronger then him, which took him by surprise.

"No!" Olivia screamed. Despite hearing her baby girl's cries from inside the room, she had to keep fighting against Greg. "Hang on, Brylee. Mommy will be there soon," she tried to reassure the infant as she continued to try hit the knife out of his tight grasp. "Ahh! You son of a bitch!" she suddenly cried when the knife swiped her cheek.

"Then let the hell go, you whore!" he yelled in her face as they rolled around on the floor, still trying to overpower the other.

"No!" Olivia growled and punched him in the face, a ring Elliot had given her for her birthday the year she left, which was on her right ring finger, cut him deeply.

She then punched him again and again but he then overpowered her and rolled then over so he was on top of her.

"Look who the stronger, smarter one is, huh, bitch?" he said and held her arms down, above her head.

"Yeah, me," she smirked and kneed him in the groin, making him lose his grip on her. She used the opportunity to quickly grab the knife and stood up. "Get up, you bastard."

Greg got up and put his hands up in surrender. "You don't have the balls, Olivia. I'm going to get that knife back and kill you and _that thing_, which keeps screaming."

"No, you won't," she said, shaking.

Greg went for the knife and before she could stop herself, she stabbed him in the stomach.

Greg coughed and tried to pull the knife out of him as he dropped to his knees on the floor. "You bitch," he sputtered.

"I told you, I'd do anything I had to do to protect my daughter. I'm so glad you are not her father," she cried and rushed in to the nursery, closing the door behind her before taking off her bloody t-shirt.

"It's okay now, princess. We're safe now. The big bad man can't hurt us anymore," she said, picking her baby up.

She calmed down her daughter but as the adrenaline faded, she began to shake. She couldn't believe that she had killed a man, especially with her infant daughter crying in her crib, in the next room.

She took a shaky breath and as she nursed Brylee, she called Jennifer and Erica.

*************

Jennifer and Erica came quickly and took in the scene.

Erica sighed and ran a hand down her face. "Olivia," she said in her strong Texan accent.

"I had to protect myself and Brylee. It was self defense," she cried, her body still shaking slightly, holding Brylee in one arm and holding a towel to her cheek, trying to stop the bleeding.

"We need to get rid of his body, Olivia," Jennifer said, shaking her head. "You did the world a favor though."

Olivia sighed and passed Brylee and the diaper bag, with a few bottles of breast milk in it, to Jennifer. "I will get rid of his body. Can you please take Brylee for a few hours?"

"Sure, honey," Jennifer said and kissed her cheek. "Call when you're ready for me to bring Brylee back."

Olivia nodded. "Thank you," she said and watched the women left with her child.

She closed the front door, sighed and went back up the stairs. Still shaking in shock, Olivia looked down at Greg's lifeless body laying on the upstairs hallway floor. His dark, crimson red blood pooled on his body and around him on the cream colored carpet. Staining the freshly steam cleaner floor.

She just stood there staring at the bloodied corpse and couldn't bring herself to touch him, let alone get rid of his dead body. She had actually loved him at one point. Before he started to be demanding and insensitive. He may have been a target but she had ended up falling in love with him despite that but about three weeks before Brylee was born, he had suddenly become this totally different man, one she didn't know or love.

It had been incredibly hard to keep living with him. She wasn't sure what had set him off but it happened to be after he saw her talking to Brylee's father, his hand on her large baby bump and Greg had gone berserk at her after Brylee's biological father left, except at the time, Greg didn't know that Adrian was her child's father. But then about two weeks later, she found out that Adrian had been murdered and all signs pointed to Greg but no-one could prove it and then suddenly someone else confessed to the horrendous crime.

The sound of police sirens brought her out of her reverie. They were getting louder as they got closer and Olivia knew that one of her neighbors must have called them, so they were coming to her house.

"Oh, shit," she muttered to herself, trying to keep her tears at bay.

She reached down and went to pull his body along but stopped herself before she touched him. She couldn't do it, she knew it was wrong, so she would have to face any consequences, if any. But she just had to prove to the officers that it was self defense. She just hoped that the evidence would prove the true story and she could be home in time for dinner to see and hold her beautiful baby girl.

*************

The front door was kicked open and a male uniform with a gun stormed in to the house.

"SFPD!" he yelled and saw Olivia upstairs with blood on her hands and on the t-shirt she was wearing, a different one to the one she had on before.

Olivia put her hands on in surrender as the officer ran up the staircase. "It was self defense," she cried.

"We'll see about that," the officer said rudely and pulled his walkie-talkie off of his belt, calling it in and asking for the Medical Examiner and techs before putting it back and getting out his handcuffs. "Put his hands behind your back," he demanded and Olivia did as ordered, wincing when he did them up too tightly. "You are under arrest...." he read her rights as he took her out and shoved her in to the back seat of his car.

*************

It took two hours but they finally let her get her phone call. She was going to call Erica or Jennifer but before she could stop herself, she called Elliot's cell phone.

Elliot finally answered his phone after three rings.

"Detective Stabler..."

"El, it's me," she said, her voice incredibly shaky.

"Liv, honey, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"I'm in the tombs, El. I need you to bail me out please. I need to see Brylee."

"Liv, why are you in the tombs?" he asked in shock.

"I... I will tell you later, I promise. Please come bail me out. I will pay you back straight away, I promise you," she begged him. "I got to go," she said as her time was up and hung up before he could even assure her that he was on his way.

She sighed as she was handcuffed again and was guided back to the cell.

*************

Elliot closed his cell phone in shock, he couldn't believe it. Olivia Benson was in the lock up. Not as a detective but as a prisoner. He just wondered what in the hell she had done to wind up there.

"What's wrong, Elliot?" Casey asked, not removing her eyes from the hotel room television. The only room that they had had available was a two bed room.

"Liv is in the lock up," he said, grabbing his wallet and car keys.

"What?!" Casey asked, whipping her head around to look at him.

"Yeah but she wouldn't tell me what for. She just begged me to bail her out so she can get back to Brylee."

Casey turned off the TV and got up, grabbing her purse. "I'm coming," she told him and followed him as he rushed out.

*************

"Benson, you've been bailed out," an officer said and opened the cell door to let her out.

Olivia sighed in relief and walked out to find her two best friends standing at the front desk waiting for her.

"El! Casey!" she cried happily and ran in to Elliot's open arms. "Thank you so much."

"Anytime, baby," Elliot assured her and kissed her head, not realizing that he had called her 'baby' but Olivia did and she couldn't help but smile in to his chest. "You just need to sign out and then we can take you to wherever Brylee is."

Olivia nodded and reluctantly let go of him to sign out.

The first thing she wanted to do was hold her baby and nurse her, rocking back and forth in the rocking chair in the nursery.

"Come on, honey, let's get you back to your little girl, huh?" Casey said after Olivia had signed the sheet.

Olivia nodded and let her ever faithful friends guide her out.

*************

As soon as they reached Jennifer's house, Olivia immediately got out of the car and ran up the path to the front door. She knocked and the door opened quickly to reveal Jennifer holding an upset Brylee.

"Oh, thank God. Liv, you little princess wants her mommy," she said, totally oblivious that Olivia had only just been bailed out of lock up. And Olivia wasn't about to tell her.

"Oh, sweetie-pie, come to Mommy," Olivia cooed and took the wailing infant.

As soon as she sensed that she was in her mother's arms, Brylee slowly began to settle down. It had been the longest that the child had ever been away from her mother and she hadn't liked it one bit.

"That's it, baby girl," she whispered and kissed Brylee's forehead, rocking her gently. "Did she eat?"

Jennifer nodded but she refused to to eat again just before so you might want to nurse her or something when you get home."

"Okay, thank you so much, Jen."

"No, problem, Livia. Anytime," she replied and gave Olivia a hug, being careful of Brylee in between them.

Olivia walked back to the car as Elliot took the diaper bag and car seat from Jennifer.

Casey stood against the car and sighed, watching Olivia. The friend she hadn't seen in two years was a world of hurt right now and all she could do was get her the best lawyer in California to defend her in court, if it came to it, but she didn't think it would because she knew with certainty that Olivia was not a cold blooded killer, so it had to be in self defense just like Olivia had said it was. And she and Elliot would do anything in their power to make sure she wasn't punished. She had been punished enough and unfortunately it was nowhere near over yet. It was going to be an incredibly long and painful journey for all four of them.


End file.
